398 
APPENDIX NO. IX. 
Notes to the preceding Observations with the Transit-Instrument. 
The time was noted by pocket-chronometer, showing nearly mean 
time, and within a few minutes of Greenwich time. 
There arc five wires in the telescope, which are numbered I., II 
III., IV., V. in tho order as a star passes them in the upper culmina¬ 
tion when the circle is on the east side of the telescope. The mean of 
broken transits refers to the middle wire, and not the mean wire. 
The sign R. after the nauio of the observed object denotes that its 
transit was observed by means of a mercurial horizon. This was neces¬ 
sary for the determination of the inclination of the axis, on account of 
the bubble in the level becoming too long in consequence of the iutense 
cold. At temperatures lower than —10° no use could be made of the 
instrument. 
An approximate computation of the transit-observation gave for the 
longitude 4h. 42m. 40s. W. of Greenwich. The latitude was found to 
be 78° 37'. The observations from which this position is derived will 
be found in the table of geographical positions. 
A. S. 
No. IX. 
Observations for Longitude of Rensselaer Harbor — Continued. 
OCCULTATIONS. 
Observations of Occultations of Planets and of an Eclipse of the Sun 
at Rensselaer Harbor, in latitude 78° 37' and approximate longitude 
70° 40' W. of Greenwich. 
The time is mean Rensselaer Harbor time, already corrected for 
error and rate; the observers, Dr. Kane and A. Sontag: initials are 
inserted. 
1. Occultation of Saturn, December 12, 1853. 
Total immersion.l lh. 21m. 25-8s.— A. S. 
" “ . 22-5 —Dr. Hay os. 
“ emersion. 14 54 54*2 —A. S. 
At immersion the time was noted when the last point of Saturn’s ring 
